Leg ulcers, which are breaks in the skin of the leg, especially around the ankles, and foot ulcers, are a persistent problem in certain patient populations, particularly affecting elderly, immobile, obese, under-exercised, diabetic or atherosclerotic patients. Chronic leg ulcers are persistent, non-healing or slow-healing wounds in which the body's healing process becomes stalled. The four most common types of leg ulcers are: venous leg ulcers, arterial leg ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and decubitus (pressure) ulcers.
Leg ulcers, particularly venous leg ulcers (also known as venous stasis ulcers), have been treated by application of a variety of skin substitutes or dressings. An example of a collagen dressing is OASIS®, an extracellular matrix product derived from porcine small intestine submucosa. APLIGRAF®, a living bi-layered skin substitute, comprises a dermal layer and an epidermal layer. ALLODERM®, a dermal matrix product, is a tissue derived from donated human skin. The skin substitutes, however, have disadvantages, including high expense, difficulty in handling, delicacy or difficulty in obtaining graft material.
Thus, despite the prevalence of leg ulcerations, particularly venous leg ulcerations, and the availability of types of graft materials, there exists a need for a method of healing leg ulcers using a relatively inexpensive, lightweight, readily-available, durable material that can facilitate healing of the ulcerated area.